On Mistaking a Stranger for a Dead Friend

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Brian Brodeur

On Mistaking a Stranger for a Dead Friend

 

        Bass River, South Yarmouth, Massachusetts

      Where dozens of egrets feast
      on their own reflection,
      late streaks of sun
      strike a surfcaster’s face.
      As he ties a jig lure,
      I squint into the glare.

      We’d fish this marsh as kids
      for perch we called kiver,
      a gang of us upriver
      stomping swamp orchids
      along a . . .
      . . . . . . .
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Able Muse Write Prize for Poetry, 2022 ▪ Winner

 
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    “‘On Mistaking a Stranger for a Dead Friend’ has it all—the sounds, the psychology (a whole theory of memory) and, most important of all, playfulness even when the subject is tragic. Bird, riverbank, and a random encounter all blend into a perfect representation of a human mind at work. Bravo!”
        —Aaron Poochigian, Final Judge, 2022 Able Muse Write Prize (for poetry)
                on this winning poem, “On Mistaking a Stranger for a Dead Friend” by Brian Brodeur.

 

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